COMC Black Friday - Bruins HOF Duo

The 1971-72 Topps/O-Pee-Chee hockey set has always been a real favorite of mine.  The cards are so bright, bold, colorful and perfectly '70s that I don't know of a hockey collector who doesn't enjoy them.

I really should have tried to tackle this set long ago, especially since the Topps version weighs in at a very manageable 132 cards.  Well, 2017 is going to be the year where I really take a crack at this one.  In anticipation of that, I snagged a couple of HOF Bruins from the set during Black Friday weekend over at COMC.

First up is the man who's scored more goals than any other Bruin in history, the "Chief", Johnny Bucyk.  A very good set of offensive skills combined with an amazing ability to avoid injury resulted in Bucyk putting up solid numbers at the NHL level into his 40s (he even had a 20-goal season at age 41).

Johnny didn't really miss any significant chunk of time during any season between 1956 and 1976, and only began trailing off in games played during his final two years (age 41 and 42 seasons).  The result was 556 career goals, all but 11 of which came in a Bruins sweater.  Add to that multiple All-Star appearances, including First Team and Second Team nominations, Lady Byng and Lester Patrick trophies, and two Stanley Cup titles, and you've got a Hall-of-Famer for sure.

I was drawn to this copy because it's in pretty remarkable shape for its age.  I'll certainly never need to upgrade it.

The other card I ended up with was goalie Gerry Cheevers.  I've mentioned this before, but I'm particularly fond of Gerry since he served as the color commentator for the cable TV Hartford Whalers games we used to watch as kids back in the day (with current Lightning play-by-play guy Rick Peckham alongside!).

Gerry of course was a top-notch goaltender in his time, and was the man in net for both of the Bruins' Stanley Cup Championships during the '70s.  He played in the WHA for a while as well, and was enshrined in the Hockey HOF in 1985, four years after Bucyk got in.

Again, this one is in great shape.  Perfect centering just like the Bucyk, which can be a real challenge with this set.

My total cost for the pair came to $5.69.  Not exactly bargain basement pricing, and I could have had them for less coin, but it was a case where I was comfortable shelling out slightly more given the amazing shape that this duo is in.

If you happen to have any cards from the '71-72 Topps hockey set laying around, I've got my want list up to date...